Stormy

by Wayne Greenough

  “Activate all defense screens on the double!” Fear slammed its way into Captain Duggan’s soul as the specter of death laughed and whispered how there would be no salvation for his ship, crew, and passengers. “All of you are mine!”

  The worst possible thing that could happen to a ship and the humans onboard was to be raided by pirates. And the space pirate, Red Comet, was the worst of the murderous lot. He and his bloodthirsty crew were the scourge of the spaceways, slaughterers to the point of absolute insanity. They would enslave the ship, make the chef and galley crew serve sumptuous foods and wines to them for several days before systematically murdering everybody on board.

  Andromeda One had no weapons system. Its defense screens were up, but the Red Comet charged his ship mercilessly forward as he powered The Killer’s ray batteries into the starship liner.

  Captain Duggan knew it was only a matter of time. He swore silently and denounced the builders of Andromeda One. Why hadn’t they made the ship’s defenses stronger? Why hadn’t they armed it with ray batteries? Why hadn’t they done a thousand different things? Damn the builders all to hell! A voice, drunk with rum and lusting for booty and murder, growled a savage command over Andromeda One’s communication’s system.

  “Ahoy you scummy swabs, this is the Red Comet. Heave to and surrender. Raise your white flag, or be blasted into space junk.”

  Captain Duggan, knowing that the Red Comet was a man of his word, did the only thing possible. They were all dead if they didn’t surrender and all dead if they did surrender. But still he made a decision.

  “All right, Red Comet, we’re stopping dead. We surrender.”

  The space pirate secured his ray batteries. Captain Duggan lowered what remained of the Andromeda’s defense screens. The end had come for all onboard. Or had it?

  As the Red Comet moved his ship closer to Andromeda One he was abruptly attacked by a terrifying spaceship that skipped from no-space to practically land on top of The Killer.

  The ship’s nose had white letters embossed on it telling all onboard The Andromeda One that the Phantom of the Spaceways had come to their rescue. His ship, The Avenger, was completely black and blazing with a fearsome amount of power. It pounced on the Red Comet’s ship like a beast of prey, with ray batteries pouring out its lethal energy to full capacity.

  The Red Comet, realizing he was in a life and death situation fought back with the Killer’s rays. But no amount of power could fight off the Black Avenger. Finally, The Red Comet, his ship badly damaged, turned tail and skipped into hyperspace in full retreat.

  Captain Duggan signaled the black ship. “This is Captain Duggan onboard the Andromeda One, to the black battlewagon, The Avenger. Come in please.”

  A deep lifeless sounding voice that chilled the spines of all that heard it replied, “This is Ril, to Captain Duggan. How may I help you?”

  “This is Captain Duggan, Ril. We are deeply indebted to you for your assistance. Had you not been here to help us, in a short time we would all have been murdered. Thank you. We are badly damaged, but we will be able to reach port.”

  “You are seven days out from Prolar, Captain. I shall come aboard and assist you.”

  The Avenger maneuvered next to the Andromeda One and matched its main airlock. With a clang of metal on metal, the magnetic grapplers held the two ships together.

  Passengers and crew gathered at the main airlock to praise the savior who had rescued them from death at the bloody hands of the Red Comet. But as the airlock opened, a deathly silence fell upon the awaiting crowd.

  The man’s face was sensuously handsome, but yet it was set in a grim, immovable expression of weariness and death. Everything he wore was stygian black. From his wide belt hung an ancient cutlass and a ray pistol that had the appearance of being used through many ages and many battles. But the striking thing about this ominous avenger was his eyes, flashing like black diamonds when you stared at him. They were soul piercing, tortured eyes that surely had viewed a thousand battles, eyes that could look inside you and know what kind a human you were. The man’s overall appearance was of a time worn soldier looking for rest, looking for the peace that he had never found.

  Ril walked through the crowd of passengers and crewmembers as if they were not there.

  No one spoke as he walked ramrod straight to the Captain’s control deck. Why should they? Who dares to hold conversation with a ghostly apparition shaped like a man?

  Only when Ril reached Captain Duggan did he speak. “I am Ril,” he said.

  The Captain gave Ril a kingly bow and tried not to shudder over the appearance of their savior dressed in black, staring at him. “I am Captain Markus Duggan,” he said in an almost whisper. “And your full name is…”

  “Just Ril…”

  “Then Ril, I speak for all the passengers, crewmembers, and myself, when I say that we are deeply indebted to you for saving us. I’m sure you fully realize what our fate would have been, had you not intervened.”

  Ril nodded. “I know Captain. I have tried without success to rid the spaceways of the murderous Red Comet for quite some time now.”

  “That is very commendable of you, Ril. I have heard many stories about your bravery, how you seem to be everywhere in the spaceways, helping and rescuing those in desperate trouble. All space captains know of you, and we have long wondered why you have taken it upon yourself to eliminate all piracy in the space lanes. And now you’re after the Red Comet.”

  “Personal reasons I care not to discuss have caused me to be what I am. Suffice it to say I have had more luck at eliminating piracy than your Space Guard. But idle conversation will not solve this ship’s problems. How are your rocket engines?”

  “Their condition is stable. We are damaged to quite some degree elsewhere.”

  “Yes, I saw that many of your bulkhead gravity plates are in need of repair. I shall engineer the task of making the Andromeda One shipshape. You shall pull into port as scheduled.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Ril. I’m assuming some of your own crewmembers will be assisting you in the repair work. They are more than welcome onboard my ship.”

  Ril stared at Captain Duggan with piercing black eyes that reflected sadness. “I am the crew,” he whispered.

  The Avenger was a battlewagon, five hundred feet of pure fighting energy. How could Ril be the only crewmember?

  Captain Duggan never questioned Ril on that point. For he, like everyone else onboard the Andromeda, was awed by the Phantom of the Spaceways.

  * * * *

  The ship work began. No one interfered with or questioned Ril. He had sole control over the entire ship. He seemed to be everywhere at once, working at a pace that would kill a normal man. He would stop only at late hours, at the end of what he considered to be a ship’s day, but even then he would not rest. He would stare out the view ports at planet Prolar and recite.

  “And the cursed shall cruise the cosmos forever.

  Never ceasing in their desperate endeavor.

  To find a most glorious and restful peace.

  My own search for such has never ceased.

  I search for a soul who will end my curse.

  So I say, come forth and end my endless search.”

  “Excuse me,” said a female voice.

  Ril spun around with the speed of a Centauri Jungle Cat. Standing before him was a slim figured, beautiful woman in the tight fitting uniform of a spaceways stewardess. Her fiery-shoulder length hair emphasized a flawless complexion that had just enough freckles to further accent her beauty, and cause Ril to hold his breath for several seconds.

  Her sparkling blue eyes stared steadily at him and reflected no fear.

  “Once again I have searched for you, and found you, Stormy.” He wanted his voice to sound commanding, full of authority. It didn’t. She was indeed another Stormy. His long lost Stormy. Would he finally possess her this time?

  When she spoke, her voice was throaty and low. It was as he always remembered it, li
ke a quiet symphony one desires to hear over and over again.

  “How did you know my name?” she asked. “Oh, of course you would know. You’ve had access to the ship’s roster. This tray I’m holding has food for you. You haven’t eaten in twenty-four hours.”

  Without a word, Ril took the tray of food. Turning away from her, he set it on the porthole’s ledge and began eating. Stormy waited.

  “This food is synthetic,” he said.

  “Yes. It is the only type of food space liners have.”

  “My ship has real food. I was about to board it and prepare a steak dinner, along with a salad, and drink a bottle of ancient wine.”

  “That sounds wonderful, Ril.”

  “Perhaps in the near future you would like to join me?”

  Seconds drifted into the time stream before Stormy said, “That would be nice.”

  Ril finished eating, turned and handed Stormy the now foodless tray. Without saying thank you or even smiling at her, he turned back to the view port. After a minute of silence, and because he knew she was still standing behind him, he faced her and began talking.

  “Why are you onboard this ship?”

  “I needed a job. I also wanted adventure. I seem to be looking for something I haven’t been able to find.”

  “I’ve found what I’m looking for. But I have never been able to keep it.”

  “What is that, Ril?”

  Ril stared deep into Stormy’s eyes while failing to answer her question. Stormy met his. He knew she saw the ancient weariness in them. “You saved all our lives,” she said. “I’m puzzled. Why would you put yourself at risk to save us? You could have been killed.”

  * * * *

  Ril’s coal black eyes stared even deeper into Stormy’s. She held her breath, marveling at his handsomeness and inner strength that caused him to almost glow. And in his eyes she saw something else melded to the timeless weariness coursing through his soul. Was it eternity? Was that the right word?

  “I have been searching long for the Red Comet. I have vowed to free the spaceways of that human parasite, and I shall. I will meet him again. Next time he will cease being a death merchant to those who travel the space lanes.”

  Stormy leaned forward to stare even deeper into his eyes.

  * * * *

  Ril caught her natural scent. Through all of time it was forever the same. The longing stirred in him. Was this Stormy the right one? “Why are you staring at my eyes?” he asked. “They are just black, a very common color.”

  “Black, yes, but they are a far from common black. You look young, perhaps thirty, but your eyes are ancient, as though they’ve seen many worlds, or even possibly the very beginning of time. They also reflect that your life has been a lonely and tortured one.”

  Ril gave Stormy a wan smile. “You have quite an imagination.”

  “Do I really? Then do you deny what I just said?”

  “No, that I cannot. You have said the truth. The hour is late. Leave me now. Thank you for the food.”

  * * * *

  As Stormy left, she heard Ril talking softly as he stared at Prolar.

  “I must search all of space, until a woman holds me dear.”

  Days slid quietly into eternity to never be repeated. The space liner repairs were completed. Everybody expected Ril to return to his own ship and blastoff for his next mission against the always murderous space pirates. But that was not to happen. Ril remained, as if waiting for something to happen. Or, as some crewmembers and passengers suspected, he wanted to be near Stormy.

  Stormy didn’t object to keeping company with the attractive Ril. In fact she quickly accepted his dinner invitation to join him onboard his ship, promptly at 1900 hours.

  Inside his ship, the Avenger, she was being shown Ril’s meditation quarters. It seemed to her as if she had stepped into another century, perhaps many centuries. And strangely it all seemed familiar to her.

  Three walls contained shelves packed with real books. Mona Lisa and Starry Night were hanging on the fourth wall. But what really mesmerized her to the point all she could do was stand motionless and stare was a full suit of medieval armor and a large stone with a broadsword stuck in its top.

  Ril was behind her. She felt his strong hands gently touch her shoulders. When he spoke, she tingled with excitement over his warm breath on her neck.

  “King Arthur actually existed, Stormy. This armor is his. He did pull the sword from the stone. When, as the legend claims, he was no more, I became the possessor of both.”

  Stormy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But she did manage to ask a question. “Are you saying his armor somehow came into your possession after many years of searching and finally acquiring it?”

  “No, King Arthur bestowed his armor upon me to hold until he once again shall rise and rule.”

  Was Ril joking? Surely he couldn’t be serious. Stormy smiled, “Then that would make you a very old person.”

  “Yes, wouldn’t it? Dinner is in the next room. Let us dine.”

  As time passed Prolar grew less than two days away. Soon the space liner Andromeda One would touchdown on the planet’s massive landing port. Stormy and Ril watched the ever-approaching world.

  “Have you been to Prolar, Ril?”

  “Yes, a few years ago.”

  “What is it like?”

  “What is any planet like? It is populated with humans suffering with the usual plague of human problems that unwary tourists are sometimes confronted with. I caution you to be careful, particularly right after you go ashore. Bad people are usually waiting to pull various schemes on the less than clever individuals arriving on space liners. But I feel certain your intuitive intelligence will prevent that from happening to you. If you’re rich enough you can see many attractions. You must be sure to see the Caves of Talking Crystals and the Land of Dancing Reptiles. Those are two of the more interesting sights to be found on Prolar. And the last time I eliminated the space pirates in this area I found most of Prolar’s food to be somewhat palatable.”

  Stormy smiled. “Maybe you should accompany me when I have my shore leave. Will you?”

  “Yes, I would be honored, Stormy.”

  “You’ve been to many planets, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, I have. Wherever I am needed I have gone.”

  “It’s strange, Ril. I seem to sense that you are desperately searching for something that you have never found. What is it?”

  “What is it? It’s what every man seeks from life. I seek companionship, someone who will walk by my side through life, and even beyond life.”

  * * * *

  “You sent for me, Captain Duggan?”

  “Yes, Ril, we’ve discovered the Red Comet is following us.”

  Ril glanced at the Captain’s viewscreens, saw the following spaceship, and commented, “I’m not surprised. He has done what I knew he would do since I made him turn and flee. The Red Comet has always made it a point to never lose prize booty. His murderous tactics have long been predictable. He will attack shortly, and the Andromeda is still too far from port for you to make a run for Prolar. We’re in for a fight.”

  Ril returned to his battle cruiser. He drifted it away from the space liner before igniting his ship’s superbly powerful rocket engines. As he felt the heavy G-Force increasing the weight of his body he smiled. This would be the final battle with the Red Comet.

  * * * *

  Onboard the space liner Andromeda One, the soon-to-be tourists of Prolar crowded the viewports on the ship’s starboard side to watch the coming battle between the red ship and black ship.

  It began. Ray batteries crackled their fiery life destroying death, touching and hammering the molecular structures of the red and black ships. Like two celestial chess players, Ril and Red Comet strove to out maneuver each other.

  Ril smiled as his fist hammered rocket-braking controls, slowing his ship to where the Red Comet’s ship sped past him.

  “Now I have you, Red Comet!”<
br />
  Ril’s shout was saturated with victory. He was the hunter making a kill; a hunter eliminating a human blight. He increased the Avenger’s ray batteries to peak capacity. They tore through the Killer’s defense screens, melting the battlewagons engines, and causing the ship to explode. So ended the Red Comet’s bloodthirsty crew, but not before an escape capsule jettisoned itself into space.

  Ril followed it.

  “Attention, Red Comet, I have you in my sights. Give yourself up, or I will destroy you. You have a choice. Death at my hands, or spend the rest of your life on a prison asteroid. Which will it be?”

  “All right, blast you. You’ve keelhauled me. I surrender,” replied the Red Comet’s guttural voice.

  Ril was waiting by his ship’s airlock as Red Comet’s escape capsule locked on to the Avenger’s side. The space pirate was still prepared to fight and raging mad. With a ray pistol in each of his ham-sized fists he charged insanely from the airlock and into the compartment roaring pirate oaths that echoed from the steel bulkheads. He was big, bulky, powerful, attired completely in a red uniform that matched his thick red beard.

  “Ha! Well blow me down if I’m not face to face with the Phantom Spaceman himself. So you be the infested space scum that bested me in battle. Well, me fine bucko, here’s where you take the walk on my space plank. But it’s a generous pirate that I am. One that will give you the time to say a few words before I blow you into comet dust and through the always waiting doors of Hell. So what say ye, ye miserable bilge rat?”

  “I’m asking you to spare Ril’s life, Red Comet.”

  Stormy had stowed away on The Avenger and stayed in seclusion during the space battle. But now that the two archenemies were facing each other she had stepped between them and spoken to Red Comet. She inched closer to the pirate, her body spring tight, ready to use her fighting tactics. In another step, she would use the deathblows she had mastered after endless years of training. The murdering space rat would be dead before he could blink.

  Red Comet delivered a repulsive belch and laughed. “Well now, my fine lovely, if you aren’t a lonely pirate’s wet dream come true. The spaceways lack the true beauty that can only be found when one’s eyes are roaming every inch of a woman. And you, lass, are the loveliest woman my eyes have ever been fortunate enough to roam. You shall come with me, after I scuttle your companion. I shall truly admire the sensual loveliness of your naked body in my oversized sleeping rack, and feel the softness of it, until it tires me.”